Latin Jazz warms up concert goers Thursday night in Steinbach

The Steinbach Arts Council presented their 2nd concert in the 2023-24 Concert Series Thursday night at the Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, warming things up with “Notas de 4” who are making their way across the Manitoba prairies this winter.

The Latin Jazz ensemble traveled to Steinbach from Calgary and consisted of Jorge Villena La Paz (guitar and vocals), Frank Marcos Aular (bass and vocals), Luis Tovar (percussion and vocals), Jonathan Lewis (violin), Maria Regnier (flamenco dancer), and front woman and co-writer of many of the songs, Silvia Temis (vocals and dancer). It was noted that all the musicians were from a Spanish country, save for the violinist who was born and raised in Pilot Mound, Manitoba.

The Spanish flamenco music was enjoyed by a packed audience, who, though many didn’t understand the lyrics sung by lead vocalist Ms. Temis, they still felt the emotions in each song.

Silvia Temis of "Notas de 4" sings with emotion during Thursday evenings concert (Photo credit: Steinbach Arts Council) 

The next event in the SAC Concert Series is a presentation by Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, “Mix tapes from my mom”. The performance will take place at the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Theatre on Monday, March 11 at 7:30pm.

Then in April, Prairie Debut brings Buzz Brass, a group of five brass players from Montreal.

Executive Director of the Steinbach Arts Council David Klassen notes, “They're very funny, very engaging, and entertaining to watch and to listen to, and they've got a great concert lined up.”

Then the concert series wraps up later in May with the Desautels Piano Trio featuring Steinbach’s own, Judy Kehler-Siebert.

“It's sort of a well-rounded event for the year, and we're happy to present every single one of these.”

Next up for the SAC is "GODSPELL". A musical production written by Stephen Schwartz and directed by Jeremy Plett and David Klassen. Performance dates are February 29, March 1 and 2 at the SRSS theatre in Steinbach.